


What Two Meddling Girls Can Do

by soeiche



Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Coming Out, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Getting Together, High School, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:36:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23970187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soeiche/pseuds/soeiche
Summary: Daphne Blake has two secrets. First: she's as straight as a circle. And second? She's head over heels for her best friend, Velma Dinkley. No one in the gang or at school knows that Daphne's queer because she's afraid they'll react with the same vitriol her past "friends" had. However, two worlds collide when Daphne gets a call for help from an old friend, and Velma tags along to help solve the mystery...
Relationships: Daphne Blake & Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake/Velma Dinkley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 237





	What Two Meddling Girls Can Do

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is based off the original Scooby Doo series but also heavily influenced by more recent versions of the show. It’s set in the 1980s at the gang's high school, Crystal Cove. There's not enough wlw fics out there and Daphne was part of my gay awakening, so I thought I'd put this out there :)

Daphne kicked off her shoes, collapsing onto her green velvet sofa with a groan. It had been a long day. That morning the gang decided to skive off school and take a trip to the beach where they practically had the place to themselves. And sure, it was a bit overcast, but that didn’t stop Daphne from working on her tan. All in all, it was shaping up to be a great day. Until the appearance of a glowing, green ghost, that is. 

Of course, it only took a quick afternoon of sleuthing for the gang to solve the mystery. On the list of absolutely-terrifying-monsters that the gang had encountered, a diver stealing yachts was nowhere near the top. But the ghost wasn’t the cause of Daphne’s dramatic flop onto her plush couch. No, her frustration stemmed from a much different source—Velma. Or more specifically, how nice Velma had looked in her bathing suit. And the triumphant look she got on her face when she figured out who was behind Cutler’s ghost. But the most trying part of the day was when on the ride back from the beach Velma had drifted off to sleep, resting her head on Daphne’s shoulder. 

With a heavy sigh, Daphne began to massage her temples; just the thought of how very close Velma had been earlier was making her feel slightly ill. 

Daphne’s attraction to women was nothing new. Sure, she had dated one boy back in sixth grade, but it didn’t last long. In fact, it was her boyfriend, Michael, who had first led her to question her sexuality.

“Are you a lesbian? Is that why you won’t kiss me even though we’ve been dating for a week?”

“Psh, of course not! Kissing is just gross!”

But then Daphne went home and thought about the question and she found she simply could not imagine herself k-i-s-s-i-n-g her boyfriend. Or any other boy, really. Her mind kept wandering back to the cute girl that sat next to her and doodled all the time.

Daphne had broken up with her boyfriend the next day. 

Riiiinnnggg!

The telephone snapped Daphne out of her reverie. She reached behind her and snagged the phone of the receiver.

“The Blake household, how can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m trying to reach Daphne?”

“This is her. Who am I speaking to?”

“Oh, wow! I didn’t recognize your voice at all! Um, it’s Louisa. Louisa Ferncliff? We went to elementary school together. Ms. Daisy’s fifth grade class we sat next to each other all year?”

“Oh my gosh, Louisa! Of course, I remember you! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, yeah it has. We haven’t really talked since you moved halfway through seventh grade, have we?”

Daphne thought about it for a moment. Had it really been that long? The gang was getting ready to graduate high school, meaning that Daphne had left her old hometown of Greysville roughly five years prior; in those five years, she hadn’t hardly thought of Louisa at all. 

Before Daphne had a chance to respond, Louisa pushed forward with the conversation. 

“This probably seems out of the blue, I recognize. A couple weeks ago an article in Greysville Daily featured Mystery Incorporated on the front page and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw your name in the caption. I didn’t even recognize you! You look so different now! I mean, that is you, isn’t it? Solving mysteries?”

“Yeah it is! That’s super that the news made it back to you guys. I mean, I only moved an hour away from Greysville, so I guess local news here is local news there.” Daphne laughed awkwardly, still not sure where the conversation was headed. 

“Well, I was wondering, y’know, if it wouldn’t be too much work, that is, um, well, I would like to hire you.”

“Hire us? What do you mean?”

“Er, um, well, I have a bit of a mystery, I suppose you could say. And I’d rather bring it to someone I know than, say, the cops.”

“Oh… okay…” Daphne trailed off. If Louisa was considering bringing in the cops, this must be a serious problem. But despite the space that had grown between them, Daphne owned Louisa everything. “I can tell the gang and we can come meet you at your house this weekend, if that works for you?”

“Sure!” Louisa’s tone was significantly brighter. “Except, it might make more sense if you can come on a school day. I know that you guys all have class, but it’s really important. You’ll see why when you get here.”

“Groovy. But Louisa, I don’t think five of us can blend in for a day at Greysville High. Maybe I should be the only one to stop by?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought about that, I guess. Are you sure you can visit Greysville by yourself?” 

Daphne squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block the negative images that flooded her imagination. No, she wasn’t sure she could handle a return to Greysville without her friends. 

“Hey Daphne, why don’t you bring the girl with the orange sweater with you, Velma? The article made her sound like she’s the brains of the operation, which might come in handy,” there was a pause, “plus, she’s cute. And if my life is getting a bit dangerous, my knight in shining armor might as well be a cutie.”

“Trust me, you’re not her type.” Daphne replied to the remark, a mix of rage at Louisa’s statement and resignation to Velma’s sexuality in her voice. 

“Well, anyways, I’ll look forward to seeing you guys. Does Thursday work?”

“Sure, Louisa. We’ll see you then.”

Daphne heard the dial tone, letting it ring for a moment before sitting straight up and running a hand through her hair. This case, whatever it was, was going to be personal. She didn’t really care about washed up Captains who stole boats, but revisiting her middle school days? That was going to be tough.

Daphne stood abruptly and walked over to her full-length mirror, giving herself a critical one-over. Her hair looked good, much longer than it had been when she was younger, and now she took care of it besides ripping a comb through the snarls. Her eyeliner was well drawn, and her lipstick was an appropriately vibrant pink. She hadn’t had the chance to change out of her beachwear before Louisa had called, and it made her body look just right; all those hours in the gym and counting calories were sure paying off. After the quick assessment, Daphne thought she looked like a normal girl trying to grab the attention of a strapping young man.   
Except that Daphne had chosen her bathing suit which showed off just enough cleavage to be considered scandalous with no man in mind. No, she had rather hoped Velma would appreciate the way she looked.

“But Velma was so excited to look for clues that she didn’t spare one glance my way,” Daphne thought to herself. “And besides, it’s not as if you’ve told anyone here that you’re a lesbian.” 

Except for the fact that Daphne was a lesbian. A lesbian who was very afraid to come out, which was why she was so terrified to return to Greysville.

You see, once Daphne had discovered she had no interest in boys, she decided to ask out the girl who doodled to the winter dance. The girl had promptly rejected her, and for the rest of the year, and the year after that, bullies called Daphne “Dyke-ne” and harassed her endlessly for who she was. When she moved to her new house in Crystal Cove, Daphne made sure that no one would be able to tell that she was gay.

Not even the gang knew that she was a lesbian. She didn’t really think that they would be upset, but there was always that lingering “what if?” in the back of her mind. And to add on to that, she was head over heels for Velma. Velma was quiet but confident in herself, and so smart and cute and, and, and… just made Daphne’s heart full.

Daphne shook her head. She would neither encourage nor embrace the feelings she had for Velma—she could never ruin the friendship they had. And Daphne also couldn’t refuse Louisa’s request, as she had been one of the few people to still talk to Daphne after the winter dance debacle. But she was going to be damned sure that Louisa didn’t hit on Velma while they were solving Louisa’s mystery, whatever it was. 

So, while Daphne knew that going back to Greysville had the potential to blow-up the most important relationship that Daphne had, it was a risk she was going to have to take.

Daphne cornered Velma Wednesday morning to ask her to accompany her to Greysville. The two leaned on the locker’s talking to each other as Velma grabbed her books for class, and Daphne couldn’t help but let her mind wander as to how rom-com-esque the moment seemed. What if she just… reached out and tucked that stray piece of hair behind Velma’s ear? 

But no. She had to focus on the mystery on hand and explain Louisa’s request.

“I don’t know, Daph, what if I miss something important in geometry?” Velma complained, predictably putting up resistance to Daphne’s proposition of skipping school.

“I know, Velms, but please? You’re a star at geometry, and this is an old friend of mine. Won’t you come along? For me?”

Was it Daphne’s imagination, or did Velma blush a bit as she glanced to the side?

“Oh, all right. I suppose so. Buy you owe me big.”

Daphne squealed and was *this* close to hugging Velma as thanks. At the last moment she caught herself—while any other girl in Crystal Cove High could get away with the gesture as purely platonic. Daphne was still scarred by the bullying she had had to endure for even looking at a girl at her old school in Greysville. 

The next morning the Blake family chauffer picked up Velma at 6:00 am and began the drive to Greysville. Daphne had been both elated and incredibly nervous to spend an hour with just Velma, but it turned out that Velma slept the whole time, having stayed up far too late reading about physics the night before.

Without Velma to talk to, Daphne felt the butterflies in her stomach take flight. She had not talked to Louisa in years, and sure, one phone call was great, but what did that mean? What if Louisa had changed? Or more importantly, what if no one else had? Would they assume that Velma and Daphne were a couple, if they remembered about Daphne’s past? 

As Daphne’s gaze fell on Velma’s slumbering form. She was wearing the same thing as always—that orange sweater that was pilling dreadfully and a maroon skirt that was always just a bit too short for Daphne’s comfort. Asleep, Velma looked sweet, without the hint of a sarcastic company that accompanied her mien when she was awake.

The last thing that Daphne wanted was for any harm to befall Velma. 

The limo pulled to a sharp stop, and Daphne quickly avoided her eyes so that Velma wouldn’t know she had been staring.

“Are we here already?” Velma asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes. 

“Jeepers, she’s cute,” Daphne thought, but replied with only a terse, “yes.”

The two stepped out of the car and Daphne was immediately swept up in a bone-crushing hug.

“Leave it to Daphne Blake to make her reappearance in a limo!” Louisa laughed as she held Daphne at arm’s length to appraise her. Daphne must have passed muster because Louisa then turned her attention to Velma.

“Wowza, Daph, you didn’t tell me your friend was such a cutie!”

Velma blushed. “Um, thanks.

Daphne glared daggers at Louisa, who returned the animosity with a friendly wink. This did not help Daphne’s mood at all.

“Anyways, I guess I should tell you two why I asked you to meet me here. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, Daph, but I thought you might not come if I had told you everything. You see, Velma, Greysville is pretty dang homophobic. Which means that the few of us who are out have been through our fair share of heckling. Sure, faculty sometimes try to step in, but it’s normally pretty half-hearted. I’m used to the heat, and have built up a pretty thick shell, so there isn’t much that rattles me. That is, until last week.”

“Last Tuesday, I got a note on my desk. Here, I saved it for you.”

She handed it to Velma, who read it. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

“Louisa, did you report this to the authorities?”

She nodded, and just stood in front of the gang with her hands in her pockets, unconcerned. Feelings of guilt overwhelmed Daphne. To shock Velma that badly? The note must have been pretty bad. How could she leave her friend to face this alone? Not that she had known about Louisa at the time, but…

“Yeah, I tried going to the principle, who said that the school was open to all sexualities, blah blah, but did nothing about the problem other than spew about what a great place this is. So, then I went to the cops, but they were useless, telling me that this was probably just a prank, someone trying to be creative in asking me to prom. But I don’t exactly feel safe with a note like that, so I reached out to Daphne. Do you guys think you can help me?”

“Of course,” Daphne answered for the both of them, “I’ve got your back.”

Louisa smiled; back in the day that was what Louisa would always say to cheer Daphne up when someone was bullying her.

“Well, let’s go inside, then. I guess you guys should just sit in on my classes and see what happens? I told the front office yesterday that I would have some cousins coming in to see what Greysville High is like, so there shouldn’t be any problems. They even gave me some extra gym uniforms, since that’s my first period. Hope you guys are ready for some good team sports bonding.”

The trio fell in step with Louisa at the helm and Velma next to Daphne slightly behind her.

“Hey Daph?”

“What’s that, Velms?”

“What did Louisa mean when she said that you knew what Greysville was like?”

“Oh, well, you see—”

“Hey look!” A familiar voice shouted, interrupting. “the freak found some friends! But wait, is that… Daphne Blake?! Come look, everybody! Greysville’s first homo is back!”

Daphne closed her eyes; she had anticipated such a scene, but it hurt all the same. Even worse, she recognized the voice. It was Michael, the boy who she had broken up with all those years ago. He had been one of the most vitriolic after her coming out, but she had hoped that he had maybe changed. With a pursing of her lips, Daphne opened her eyes to respond to Velma’s question. But Velma was no longer next to her.

Velma, much to everyone’s surprise, was walking over to Michael.

“Are you Daphne’s girlfriend, come to defend her honor?”

“I’m her friend,” Velma’s voice shook with anger, “and you’re a jerk.”

Michael laughed, “No, she’s a freak. Just like her freak friend Louisa. And anyone who claims to be her friend must be a freak, too.”

He sneered and pushed Velma. Daphne felt her own anger surge.

“You know what Michael? I bet you’re just jealous that I turned you down all those years ago, aren’t you? So why don’t you move on with your life and leave me and my friends alone.”

Daphne turned her back on the crowd beginning to form around her and her friends, elbowing her way through the masses. She didn’t know where she was going, she knew she should stay with Louisa who was shouting after her, and she knew she shouldn’t leave Velma to face Michael. But she just couldn’t face being back in such a toxic environment, and the strong façade she had constructed proved to be just that: a mask over her true hurt.

Stumbling blindly Daphne somehow made it to the patio. She sat down and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her bag. She didn’t normally smoke but, well, this was an exceptional situation.

Daphne rested her head on the handrail and sighed. She shouldn’t have come back.

Soft footsteps sounded behind her and a familiar orange cashmere brushed against her arm.

“Hey,” Velma’s kind voice said.

“Hey.” Daphne pulled a long drag on her cigarette.

“So this is why you moved schools, huh.” It was more a question than a statement. After all, Michael’s scene hadn’t really left much doubt as to Daphne’s reputation in the Greysville community.

“Yep,” Daphne responded with extra emphasis, smacking her lips at the end.

“And I guess this is why you didn’t tell us? You thought we would react like the kids here?”

Daphne nodded, not trusting herself to respond without her voice betraying how deeply she was hurting.

“Oh, Daph, you’re one of the gang, and who you like isn’t going to change that. I hope you know that I don’t see you any differently now. Well, um, actually, I’m not sure that’s true,” Daphne felt her heart lodge in her throat at Velma’s words, “I mean I don’t dislike you or anything. Really, it’s the opposite. I think I might also like girls. Or rather, maybe one girl? In particular?”

Velma looked shyly at Daphne, both girls blushing furiously.

“Velms, are you asking me out?”

“Yeah, I guess I am. But you know, it’s totally fine if you say I ‘no,’ I completely understand-”

Daphne reached out suddenly and took Velma’s hand, intertwining their fingers, interrupting Velma’s confession.

“I’m more than okay, Velma.”

The two looked at each other smiling.

“Let’s get back in there and solve Louisa’s mystery, yeah?” Velma suggested, ending the tender moment.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Both girls stood up and Velma made to drop Daphne’s hand.

“Oh no,” Daphne said, “I’ve spent so long being afraid of who I am, we’re gonna walk right in there and show them their bullying can’t do anything to me anymore. And we’re not gonna let them hurt Louisa, either.”  
“Okay,” Velma replied, turning back towards the school, Daphne’s hand still firmly grasped, “let’s show Greysville what two meddling girls can do.”


End file.
